Borderlands {March 29}

Commissioned Art by Vittoria Volovik

The original acrylic colorful portrait "Asian Eyes" - $175

Another goal on my 101 in 1001 is I want to commission a custom piece of art that represents our family in some way. I am just starting to think about this one and research artists for the job. Well today I found an amazing artist with unbelievable pricing!
Her name is Vittoria Volovik and she is from Athens, Greece!

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Crown Archetype; 1 edition (November 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0307886263
ISBN-13: 978-0307886262
240 pages
Ages 16+
Buy Here for $16.50
My Rating: 5/5

Menu Plan Monday: March 25

Not only is the Memorial tomorrow night but we have CO's visit this week. That means every single night there is some sort of meeting or activity. So not a whole lot of time for preparing dinner. Therefore, I am preparing mostly Crock Pot meals and quick pastas.

Borderlands {March 22}

The Veronica Mars Movie

What To Do With Your Wedding Dress After Your Wedding?

So I don't think I ever shared the after pics of what I did with my wedding dress after I trashed it. I was reminded of it when I flipped through a copy of Sara Cotner's A Priceless Wedding. I knew Sara quoted me on what I did with my dress and I wanted to share :)

The Power of a Good Jacket

There is one thing that always makes me feel wicked awesome when I wear it. A good jacket.

This is probably why I own far too many jackets for someone living in south Texas where it only gets below 50 degrees for a cumulative two weeks out of the year.

But growing up in new England that wasn't an issue. Jackets were a way of life.

Favorite Things Giveaway

I was inspired by Elsie's & Emma's Favorite Things Giveaway over at A Beautiful Mess and decided to host one of my own :)

My Art Collection

Craft Your Stress Away by Joy Kelley

#10 under Creativity on my 101 in 1001 is to "Collect art." As an artist myself, I have always had a strong appreciation for art. Ever since I was a little kid I have loved surrounding myself with beautiful pieces. I remember begging my parents to take me to the Monet (my then favorite artist) exhibit at the MFA when I was 9. When my dad surprised me with the trip, we spent the whole day just marveling at the wall size paintings.

Free Printable: Shopping List

Last weekend I was able to snag a zippered binder from Target on clearance for only $4.80! I was so excited because I had been wanting one to keep all my coupon organized.

The Rules (Project Paper Doll) by Stacey Kade

The Rules (Project Paper Doll) by Stacey Kade
Hyperion Book CH (April 23, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1423153286
ISBN-13: 978-1423153283
416 pages
Ages 12+
Pre-Order Here for $9.77
My Rating: 4/5

Menu Plan: March 18

Didn't end up cooking every night last week so had some spill over to this week :)
So on the menu is...

Mexican Casserole 

Colombian Steak 

Mozzarella Broccoli Pasta 

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino 

Taco Soup 

Pizza Stuffed Chicken Breasts w/ Angel Hair Pasta 

Easy Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore  

The Death of Google Reader

I was crushed yesterday when I logged into Reader and saw that unholy announcement about Google shutting down Reader on July 1st. I have been using blogger for years now. I literally check it every single day and it's how I stay up-to-date with all the blogs I love. Before I got married, I joined Reader to keep up with all the wedding blogs out there. For a few months prior to that, I just used Bloggers "Blogs I Follow" tool but I hated how unorganized it was and time consuming it was. So I started using reader on March 13, 2009. Since then I have used Reader to sort through and peruse 40,519 posts.
As soon as I saw the announcement, I started researching alternatives for keeping up with the blogs I love. The first one that I knew of was Flipboard.

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Hyperion Book CH (May 14, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1423168976
ISBN-13: 978-1423168973
320 pages
Ages 12+
Pre-order Here for $10.21
My Rating: 4/5

Menu Plan: March 11

This week I am going to make the following yummy meals :)

Mexican Casserole 

Colombian Steak 

Oven Tacos 

Corned Beef & Cabbage 

Jalapeño Popper Burgers 

Mozzarella Broccoli Pasta  

My Stolen Wallet

My wallet got stolen yesterday :( It was only by quick thinking and impeccable timing that I was able to get it back without any loss...

In My Mailbox: February

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1 edition (March 26, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1599907879
ISBN-13: 978-1599907871
320 pages
Ages 12+
Pre-order Here for $10.21
My Rating: 5/5

Purchase History: February 2013

Project Life Inspired Album

A couple weeks ago I learned about Project Life on A Beautiful Mess. I really liked the idea of a scrapbook style album that was still quick and easy to assemble. After using the same simple style of chronicling our living, growing family scrapbook for 2 years, I was ready to do something a bit more visually striking.